Language, Geography and Social Development: The Case of Norden. Discussion Papers in Geolinguistics 3.

Lunden, Thomas

The geolinguistic history of Norden (Scandinavia plus Finland) is reviewed. The shifting political boundaries, particularly of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, have contributed to a complex distribution of language populations that is all the more interesting given the common ancestry of most of the languages involved. The forces of nationalism have had to contend with the strong feelings of the inhabitants of large minority language enclaves, such as the Swedish speakers of Finland and the Frisian speakers of lower Denmark. The political role of these countries, and especially their role in modern European history vis-a-vis Germany, has exerted further pressures on minority language stability. The contemporary situation of the minorities is characterized by a variety of social patterns that reflect a complicated interplay of historical, geographical, economical, legal technical, and sociological factors. (JB)